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Why did Zhang Xueliang align Manchuria with Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government?

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Map of eastern Asia highlighting Manchuria in northeastern China, which includes the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, and part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The highlighted area borders Russia, Mongolia, and North Korea. — Manchuria The historical region of Manchuria shown with the boundaries of the modern-day Chinese provinces in its place as well as the portion of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region that is often considered part of Manchuria.

After succeeding his father, Zhang Zuolin, as the ruler of Manchuria in 1928, Zhang Xueliang chose to align himself with the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) government in Nanjing primarily due to his patriotic desire to rid China of foreign control.123

Unlike his father, who had maintained power through tacit support from the Japanese in exchange for concessions, Zhang Xueliang was increasingly opposed to the privileges held by Japan in the region, which he viewed as a compromise of Chinese sovereignty. By aligning with the Nationalist government, he sought to assert Chinese independence and resist the growing influence of the Japanese, who controlled much of south Manchuria through railways and leaseholds. This decision to cast his lot with the Nationalists was made in direct defiance of Japanese warnings.1342